Traditionally, First Class and other classes of mail delivery by the United States Postal Service has provided services and options which have been invaluable and necessary for business and public use. First Class mail and other class mail features and options presently include forwarding (redirecting mail that is addressed to a no longer valid address to an updated address), return (returning to the sender mail that is addressed to a no longer valid address), certification (providing a return receipt and maintaining a record of delivery at the delivering post office), registration (monitoring of mail during transit and creation of receipts created to document the location of the mail at various stages in delivery), insurance (in case of loss), priority delivery (delivery within two days), delivery confirmation, and security (as provided by law and the Postal Inspector). The United States Postal Service (“USPS”) has, through First Class mail delivery, maintained sufficient reliability and independence from influence to be relied on for business and legal matters. Courts of law, for example, consider return receipts as proof that the intended recipient received a correspondence. For this reason, businesses have traditionally utilized First Class mail for delivery of bills, invoices, and so forth. In certain situations, First Class mail is required. For example, many times mailers don't have a choice regardless of the service due to a legal monopoly—certain items, based on their purpose or content, must by law be sent by First Class mail. Examples vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but are often such things as statements of indebtedness, notices to creditors, notices to debtors, notices of liquidation, and so forth.
With the advent of the Internet, however, the speed, convenience, cost and benefits of access from almost any location have taken a toll on First Class and other classes of mail delivery. Many people, for both personal and business actions, are increasingly utilizing email instead of paper mail for many purposes. Even uses that would normally require the features of First Class mail, such as invoices or bills of indebtedness (return receipts or certification of deliveries are helpful when a later lawsuit is required for collection) are sometimes being delivered currently via email. Without First Class features such as forwarding and return receipt, change of address, delivery confirmation and security (via governing law and postal inspectors) increasing use by society and businesses of email as a preferred delivery channel will result in degraded benefits such as an overall lowering of reliability and documentation.